Finalists announced in national competition to identify healthy aging solutions

TORONTO, Sept. 6, 2018 /CNW/ - It started as a challenge to Canadians to come up with great new ideas to support healthy aging. The AGE-WELL National Impact Challenge triggered a flood of submissions. After a round of public voting, AGE-WELL is pleased to announce the finalists.

Eight finalists will compete for over $100,000 in cash and in-kind prizes at a live pitch event in Vancouver, British Columbia, where they will showcase how their solution could positively impact older Canadians or their caregivers.

The finalists are:  

• Gluu Inbox: The First Inbox Designed Just for Older Adults: Email is a critical form of communication but poses one of the greatest online security risks older adults face. Gluu Inbox makes it easier to use email securely, avoid scams, manage attachments, and stay connected. (Zone 1: British Columbia and Alberta)
• Mysteries for Seniors: "Mysteries for Seniors" will be an interactive, relaxing, and non-threatening virtual environment which will allow seniors to exercise their memory and practice cognitive tasks while having fun and socializing with their peers. (Zone 2: Manitoba and Saskatchewan)
• Adaptive Clothing Redefined: It's all in the design. Monarch has developed an innovative, beautiful line of clothing specifically for people who require assistance dressing. The clothing eases the dressing process, protects the skin, is comfortable and looks great. (Zone 3: Ontario and Quebec)
• Schedule Management System: The Schedule Management System is a facility-wide system that schedules and shares tasks with the facility staff. The system will allow seniors to create a profile, attached to their unit number, that logs and reschedules regular activities. (Zone 4: Eastern Canada)
• MouvMat: MouvMat is an interactive digital gaming surface that is designed for older adults to encourage physical activity in a social and engaging way. Our goal is to improve the physical and cognitive health of older adults. (Young Innovator)
• Marlena Books App: The Marlena Books app brings reading to life for individuals with later-stage dementia. Our digital reading platform incorporates accessibility features such as graduated reading levels, personalization, audio support and automatic page turning. (Stakeholder Favourite)
• Nightingale.ai: The Smart Clinical Assessment Assistant: Nightingale.ai is an intelligent and portable assistant for functional and cognitive assessments. This smart device uses cutting-edge artificial intelligence to analyze older adults' physical function and cognition at the bedside to optimize clinical decision support. (Most Mentioned on Social Media)
• ARCtag: ARCtag is an automated, rapid communication tool to enhance safety during guided hikes and outdoor recreation tours for seniors. The device detects if someone falls, stops moving, gets separated, or signals for help. (AGE-WELL 2018 Summer Institute team)

"The depth and diversity of the ideas is impressive," says Dr. Alex Mihailidis, Scientific Director of AGE-WELL, Canada's Technology and Aging Network, which is hosting the competition. "A lot of creative thinking has gone into developing these proposed solutions."

The AGE-WELL National Impact Challenge aims to identify great new ideas for technology-based solutions that will improve the quality of life of older Canadians and/or their caregivers.

The challenge drew 60 video submissions from Canadians. Almost 15,000 votes were cast by members of the public during online voting between August 1 and August 17, 2018. The list of finalists includes the contestant who received the most votes in each of four geographic zones (a fifth zone did not receive entries).

In addition to the four contestants chosen from the zones, three wild card videos were selected to participate in the finale: Young Innovator (chosen by AGE-WELL's Education and Training Program Leads), Stakeholder Favourite (chosen by a member of AGE-WELL's Older Adult and Caregiver Advisory Committee) and Most Mentioned (video with the most social media activity and mentions), plus the winning team from the AGE-WELL 2018 Summer Institute.

The grand finale will be held on October 17, 2018 at the AGE-WELL Annual Conference in Vancouver. Each finalist will give a five-minute presentation to a panel of expert judges.

The cash prize associated with the competition is to be used solely for research and development of the submitted idea, its dissemination or commercialization. For more about the finalists, prize details, and competition terms and conditions, please visit the competition main page.

Generous sponsors of the AGE-WELL National Impact Challenge are: Bereskin & Parr, CARP, the Impact Centre, Revera, Sun Life Financial, and TELUS Ventures.

Register here to attend AGE-WELL's 4^th Annual Conference on October 16-18, 2018 at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre.

About AGE-WELL:

AGE-WELL NCE Inc. (http://www.agewell-nce.ca/, @AGEWELL_NCE) is Canada's Technology and Aging Network. AGE-WELL brings together researchers, older adults, caregivers, partner organizations and future leaders to accelerate the delivery of technology-based solutions that make a meaningful difference in the lives of Canadians. AGE-WELL researchers are producing technologies, services and policies/practices to improve quality of life for older adults and caregivers, and generate social and economic benefits for Canada. AGE-WELL was launched in 2015 through the federally-funded Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program.

SOURCE AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE)